Spent Sunday morning at Fusion Cafe. Coffee was excellent, food was great and friendly service. I had taken along my own food for my little boy and ran it past the counter staff and they were fine with it. Little man had a blast running around the back yard. Will definitely be back.

I went to Fusion yesterday and loved it. The backyard is great on a sunny day. We took our 16 month old and he was fine to run around in the backyard as long as we kept an eye on him and stopped him getting into mischief or bothering other customers.

The people complaining about it not being child friendly may be the kind of people who expect Cafes to be child care facilities. There seem to be a lot of parents out there like that.

Rude rude old lady(the owner?) at front! Its a really unfriendly cafe!Service was very appalling and the owner was very rude! I got charged $7 for hot water! I felt uncomfortable the whole time we were at this Cafe and very unwelcome there, although the coffee was just ok . Any cafes these days so rude like them are still survive? Shame on you! We won’t be going back for sure!!!

Had a flat white here this morning and it was gorgeous. Perhaps the best one yet in Auckland. I had another one a few doors down (not the coffee experience shop) but another and that was ho hum (but good food). Still 5 out of 5 the coffee Fusion. I will return.

I have been visiting Fusion regularly for the past 3-4 years and always found the environment welcoming, food and coffee excellent and service quick and attentive. I'm not even sure who the "rude" and "horrid" owner of other reviews is, unless she is never there before 10am, when I am. Or maybe I haven't noticed her because I have my face buried in a fantastic plate of eggs bene or pancakes.

I wouldn't say it's set up to be child friendly in that there's an open fireplace and a Ponsonby mum would struggle to get a mountain buggy down the back but if you want a reasonably priced, delicious breakfast and a great coffee, I thoroughly recommend Fusion.

my family and i just had a beautiful brunch at fusion cafe, the service was fantastic , the man making coffee is genius with his machine .All to often good coffee is overlooked and i would like to recommend this allpress brew to any one looking for a real good thing.

Wow, reading these reviews, I'm glad I didn't go here with kids and I'll make a note not to take them in the future! And it also sounds lucky that I didn't get the female waitress that is mentioned here so often!

My brief visit to Fusion was pleasant and based on that I would go back. My first thoughts were that it was funky and I liked the decor (very Ponsonby!). The service was great - jovial and friendly and I even got some banter and a dance! The coffee was great and although I didn't have any food (not this time), it did look great (especially the home-baked muffins, tempting me from the counter).

I'm sorry to say that all the reviews below about 'non-child friendly' and about the horrid lady there are too true...

Myself and a friend visited there last week in the knowledge that there was a large rear courtyard in which our two 15 month old girls would have a little space to not disturb (too) many people. We were the only people using the courtyard asides from two other mothers of tots, and a couple who were very pleasant.

Towards the end of our coffee I was advised to put a lid on my friends lunchbox for her little tot, as 'we don't want it to attract sparrows, and we have a kids menu - so don't bring your own'. Her approach was rude and delivered with no finesse. When I objected, noting that we did actually buy food for us which was shared with the children (and one of the children had a fluffy), I was met with a filthy look.

I can understand that she wants to run a business, and home-made vegemite sandwiches and packets of raisins don't bring in the dosh for her, but please - show a little heart and maybe I'd be back there ordering a full meal for my child when she is a little older.

Won't be going back, and have passed the word amongst my friends not to bother either. Which is a real shame as I do love their food, and the other staff we met were lovely.

I was excited about going to Fusion Cafe and trying out something new as had heard good things about the brioche and coffee. I had arranged a get together with friends (and their children) and had actually googled "child-friendly cafes in Auckland" of which Fusion was recommended. I was really disappointed and actually embarassed that it was my idea to go there. It certainly didn't feel child friendly. "Child-friendly" maybe meant the small cold sandpit and two toys at the back in the courtyard? The brioche was actually delicious as was the coffee, although small and overpriced. The service was quite appalling. We are a friendly group and the lady at the counter was most definitely not. I later found she was the owner. The wait staff were also quite rude and apprently not welcoming of children. Fusion, I would recommend you do your best to remove all reference to being child friendly and perhaps try and find some smiles and cusomer service.

I just had a very disappointing experience at Cafe Fusion in Ponsonby. I met a friend there and between us we had two young children. One staff member who served us was clearly annoyed with having guests with children to serve, she was very rude to us twice during our stay. We did our best to get our two young ones seated and out of the way, and i felt they were both very well behaved for pre schoolers. However I felt uncomfortable the whole time we were at Fusion Cafe and very unwelcome, which is a shame as the coffee was delicious. Can cafes these days really afford to be so rude to paying customers? Even those with young children. We won't be going back.

I have just had a very disappointing experience at Fusion Cafe. It is with some excitement (love trying new places!) that I headed over from the shore to meet friends at the cafe. I was looking forward to seeing the child friendly cafe with my 3 year old. There was a distinct lack of any warmth or welcome from the owner and it felt like we were actually very unwelcome with children when I was expecting the opposite. I thought that our order of a small flat white and kids hot chocolate was very expensive at $8. The owner also gave me the impression that I was only welcome if I was ordering food.Friends that I met also found the owner to be impolite and when we questioned one of the waiting staff about the cost of the drinks, he was smart and rude in his response.Shame...won't be returning to Fusion or advising anyone else to.

I've always found this place quite mediocre at the best of times, and only ever went there because they have a sandpit for the kids and an outdoor area, especially as the inside decor is grubby, and as tasteless as a hippy's spare bedroom. I've been there a lot with the kids, it is handy because you can get your pram down the side without disturbing people. But the food was always basic with little imagination, and service seem to fall apart if you were eating outside. I cut back going there, only going if others wanted to meet there, because the sandpit was often dirty and never refilled, as well as too many sparrows crapping everywhere.

What's stopped me going there forever was when calling past to drop in some foyers for a local event I'm involved with. I acknowledged him and told him I'd like to drop some flyers with the others that were on the counter. The guy says, sure, go ahead. And then some short woman I hadn't seen, presumably the owner, appeared from practically under the counter and started lecturing me on not saying hello to her and her staff. She seemed to enjoy being pratronising and relished be condescending to me. "come on - say hello, it's not that hard", completely jumping in on the interaction I'd already had with her staff member. When I confronted her about this and how rude she was she was unapologetic and smug.

If people want to run cafes and promote them as hubs of the community they should be civil to members of that community, and that's all the time, not just when they're handing over handfuls of cash (and I've handed over hundreds over the years) for their otherwise bland food and service and use of their cat poo infested sandpit.

This relaxed cafe is the perfect place for a weekend coffee and to meet friends. The staff are friendly and the menu is well priced. Its located in a great strip along Jervois road close to some beautiful shops, well worth a visit!

Reviewer Anonymous

10/03/2009

Fusions in Ponsonby is a slightly alternative styled cafe. A good place to meet up with friends with kids as the cafe has a kids area out in the backyard....sand pit and all! Another plus is the area is fenced!

Reviewer Anonymous

16/11/2007

Best best best cafe ever! I love the Vietnamese Salad with chicken, avo, mango and cashews mmmmm Thanks Jo and Gubby

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